Yarmouk under siege - war crimes, starvation, and death

Syria: Yarmouk under siege - a horror story of war
crimes, starvation and death

A new report by
Amnesty International reveals that war crimes and crimes
against humanity have been carried out on Palestinian and
Syrian civilians in Yarmouk, on the outskirts of Damascus,
which is under brutal siege by Syrian government forces.

The report, Squeezing the life out of Yarmouk: War
crimes against besieged civilians, published ahead of
the third anniversary of the crisis in Syria, highlights the
deaths of nearly 200 individuals since the siege was
tightened in July 2013 and access to crucial food and
medical supplies was cut off. According to Amnesty
International’s research, 128 of those who have died
starved to death in the catastrophic humanitarian crisis
that has emerged.

“Life in Yarmouk has grown
increasingly unbearable for desperate civilians who find
themselves starving and trapped in a downward cycle of
suffering with no means of escape,” said Philip Luther,
Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at
Amnesty International.

“Civilians of Yarmouk are
being treated like pawns in a deadly game in which they have
no control.”

The report highlights that government
forces and their allies have repeatedly carried out attacks,
including air raids and shelling with heavy weapons, on
civilian buildings such as schools, hospitals and a mosque
in Yarmouk. Some of the areas attacked had served as
shelters for people who have been internally displaced by
the conflict. Doctors and medical staff have also been
targeted.

“Launching indiscriminate attacks on
civilian areas, leading to deaths and injuries, is a war
crime. To repeatedly strike a heavily populated area, where
the civilians have no means of escape, demonstrates a
ruthless attitude and a callous disregard for the most basic
principles of international humanitarian law,” said Philip
Luther.

At least 60 per cent of those remaining in
Yarmouk are said to be suffering from malnutrition.
Residents told Amnesty International they had not eaten
fruit or vegetables for many months. Prices have skyrocketed
with a kilo of rice costing up to US$100.

“Syrian
forces are committing war crimes by using starvation of
civilians as a weapon of war. The harrowing accounts of
families having to resort to eating cats and dogs, and
civilians attacked by snipers as they forage for food, have
become all too familiar details of the horror story that has
materialized in Yarmouk,” said Philip Luther.

The
camp has also had its electricity power supply cut since
April 2013.

Despite the intermittent delivery of
limited food supplies by the UN Relief and Works Agency
(UNRWA) during January and February 2014 – the aid that
has arrived is still woefully inadequate to meet basic
needs. Aid workers have compared the efforts so far to a
mere “drop in the ocean”. Renewed shelling of the area
has resumed in recent days cutting off deliveries once more.

“Deaths are mounting in Yarmouk and the situation
is dire. It is extremely distressing to think that in many
cases, lives could have been saved had proper medical care
been available,” said Philip Luther.

Reports have
emerged of women dying in childbirth. Children and the
elderly have suffered the most. Eighteen children including
babies have died. Complications have also arisen from
residents eating inedible or poisonous plants and dog meat.

Hospitals have run out of even the most basic medical
supplies. Most have been forced to shut down. Residents told
Amnesty International that in some cases armed opposition
groups had looted medical supplies and stolen ambulances
from the hospitals.

Medical workers have also been
repeatedly harassed. At least 12 have been arrested during
the siege, often at checkpoints. Six disappeared after being
seized by Syrian government forces. At least one doctor is
believed to have died as a result of being tortured in
custody.

“Targeting doctors or medical workers who
are trying to assist the sick and wounded is a war crime.
All sides must refrain from attacks on medical and other
humanitarian workers,” said Philip Luther.

At least
150 people from Yarmouk have been arrested since April 2011,
with more than 80 still in detention as of late February
2014. Amnesty International is calling for the immediate and
unconditional release of all those who have been detained
solely for their political opinions or identity.

“The siege of Yarmouk amounts to collective
punishment of the civilian population. The Syrian government
must end its siege immediately and allow humanitarian
agencies unfettered access to assist suffering civilians,”
said Philip Luther.

A UN Security Council (UNSC)
resolution calling for all parties to the conflict to
immediately lift sieges of populated areas, unhindered
access for humanitarian agencies and an end to violations of
human rights and international humanitarian law, was agreed
last month. But this has yet to lead to a tangible
improvement in the situation of besieged civilians.

“The siege of Yarmouk is the deadliest of a series
of armed blockades of other civilian areas, imposed by
Syrian armed forces or armed opposition groups on a quarter
of a million people across the country. These sieges are
causing immeasurable human suffering and all of them must
end immediately.”

Amnesty International is calling
for anyone suspected of committing or ordering war crimes or
crimes against humanity to be brought to justice, including
through referral of the situation in Syria to the Prosecutor
of the International Criminal Court (ICC). According to the
Rome Statute of the ICC, certain acts, including murder,
torture and enforced disappearances, amount to crimes
against humanity if directed against a civilian population
as part of a widespread or systematic attack.

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